FSU’s Braman Claims Fifth ACC Men’s Indoor Coach Of The Year Award

Tallahassee, FL -- Florida State’s Bob Braman has been named the ACC Men’s Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year, which was announced Tuesday by the league office.

Braman picked up the honor for the fifth time in his career after the Seminoles roared back from a 29.5-point deficit to win the 2012 ACC Indoor Championship by 27.5 points over defending champion Virginia Tech Saturday at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston, Mass.

It marked the ninth time in 10 years the Seminoles have carried home the championship trophy. The Seminoles won on the strength of their performance in the sprints and field events, capturing six gold medals and bringing back 12 All-ACC honors. They piled up 58 points in the sprints, including wins in the 60, 200 and 400-meter dashes. The decisive move into the lead came when the Seminoles posted a 1-2-3 sweep of the 200, behind three-time ACC Indoor Championship Most Valuable Track Performer Maurice Mitchell’s victory.

The men’s and women’s teams will be heading in a multitude of different directions this weekend for “last chance” meets in an attempt to increase the number of qualifiers for the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships, set for March 9-10 in Nampa, Idaho.

Associate head coach Harlis Meaders and women’s distance coach Karen Harvey are headed to Birmingham with Linden Hall, Violah Lagat, Aubree Worden and Kayleigh Tyerman all set to run the mile. Jennifer Dunn and Chelsi Woodruff are entered in the 3000 meters. They will be joined by sprinter Marecia Pemberton (60) and shot putter Michael Putman.

Head coach Bob Braman is bound for Notre Dame with a group of men’s distance runners, including David Forrester and AJ del Valle in the mile, as well as Darrin Gibson and Pablo Navarrete in the 800.

The Seminoles will also be well-represented in the outdoor season-opening meet, the UNF Spring Break Invitational in Jacksonville this weekend.

‘Noles climb in polls this week

FSU’s strong showing at the ACC Indoor Championships, by both the winning men and runner-up women, led to some modest upward movement in this week’s national poll, released by the USTFCCCA on Tuesday. The Seminole men climbed four spots to No. 16 nationally, while the women jumped up one spot to No. 20. The women moved up to No. 2 in the NCAA South Region rankings, while the men stood pat at No. 3 this week.

Putting a wrap on the ACC Championships

The Florida State men’s track team claimed some noteworthy achievements in the process of wrestling possession of the ACC Championship trophy after a one-year hiatus. The ‘Noles won six individual titles and 12 All-ACC honors (top-three finishes), which is about status quo for the program over the last decade, to wit:

· Dating to the 2003 ACC Indoor Championship, the Seminoles have won 53 gold medals out of a possible 170, which is a staggering 31 percent. On average, FSU has won 5.3 of a possible 17 gold medals each of the last 10 years.

· Maurice Mitchell’s successful defense of his 200-meter dash title marked the ninth consecutive year the Seminoles have won that race. Mitchell joins former FSU great Walter Dix and Charles Clark as two-time, 200-meter champions.

· Kemar Hyman’s victory in the 60-meter dash marked the third consecutive gold in the shortest sprint, with the previous two being won by Mitchell, who was second this past weekend.

· On the women’s side, distance coach Karen Harvey’s squad produced 40 of FSU’s 87 runner-up points in the meet, while the field events contributed 35 more to the cause.

· Interestingly enough, the women did most of their damage by piling up points with fourth-to-eight place finishes, amassing 43 in all.

· While the men are a veteran team, the women are in a transition stage, with youth playing a significant factor. Freshmen supplied 22.5 points to the cause, headed by the mile trio of Colleen Quigley, Linden Hall and Aubree Worden. Jande Pierce (200, 4x400 relay), Briana Cherry-Bronson and Lakitta Johnson (weight throw) and Sarah Chandler (4x400 relay) were first-year scoring contributors.

· ACC champions included the meet and school-record setting distance medley relay team of Hannah Brooks, Jande Pierce, Aubree Worden and Amanda Winslow (11:08.17), Amy Harris in the long jump and Winslow in the 3000.

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